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Meraz claims indigenous Mexican heritage from the P'urhépecha people. He attended the New School for the Arts, and is an avid painter and illustrator, as well as a talented dancer and martial artist.

He is married to his Vietnamese-American wife, Kim. His wife is the true Twilight fan. It was she who told him he should audition for New Moon. She believed he was perfect for the part. They have a son named Somak, for whom his mentor, actor Raoul Trujillo, is the godfather. Somak means "beautiful one" in Quechua, an indigenous language from Peru. In June 2012, the couple welcomed a second child: a son named Talus Alexander Meraz.